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1.
Abstract. A number of recent studies based on hydrographic observations and modelling simulations have dealt with the major climatic shift that occurred in the deep circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean. This work presents hydrographic observations and current measurements conducted from 1997 to 1999, which reveal strong modifications in the dynamics of the upper, intermediate and deep layers, as well as an evolution of the thermohaline characteristics of the deep Aegean outflow since 1995. The reversal of the circulation in the upper layer of the north/central Ionian is worthy of note. The observations indicate a reduction of Atlantic Water in the northern Ionian with an increase on the eastern side of the basin. In the intermediate layer, the dispersal path of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) is altered. Highly saline (>39.0) and well-oxygenated intermediate waters were found near the Western Cretan Arc Straits. They flow out from the Aegean, thus interrupting the traditional path of the LIW, and spread prevalently northwards into the Adriatic Sea. In the deep layer, dense waters, exiting from the Adriatic (σø−29.18 kg · m−3), flow against the western continental margin in the Ionian Sea at a depth of between 1000–1500 m. Dense waters of Aegean origin (> 29.20 kg · m−3), discharged into the central region of the Eastern Mediterranean during the early stages of the transient, propagate prevalently to the east in the Levantine basin and to the west in the northern Ionian Sea. Near-bottom current measurements conducted in the Ionian Sea reveal unforeseen aspects of deep dynamics, suggesting a new configuration of the internal thermohaline conveyor belt of the Eastern Mediterranean.  相似文献   

2.
The recent changes in the thermohaline circulation of the Eastern Mediteranean caused by a transition from a system with a single source of deep water in the Adriatic to one with an additional source in the Aegean are described and assessed in detail. The name Cretan Sea Overflow Water (CSOW) is proposed for the new deep water mass. CSOW is warmer (θ>13.6°C) and more saline (S>38.80) than the previously dominating Eastern Mediterranean Deep Water (EMDW), causing temperatures and salinities to rise towards the bottom. All major water masses of the Eastern Mediterranean, including the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW), have been strongly affected by the change. The stronger inflow into the bottom layer caused by the discharge of CSOW into the Ionian and Levantine Basins induced compensatory flows further up in the water column, affecting the circulation at intermediate depth. In the northeastern Ionian Sea the saline intermediate layer consisting of Levantine Intermediate Water and Cretan Intermediate Water (CIW) is found to be less pronounced. The layer thickness has been reduced by factor of about two, concurrently with a reduction of the maximum salinity, reducing advection of saline waters into the Adriatic. As a consequence, a salinity decrease is observed in the Adriatic Deep Water. Outside the Aegean the upwelling of mid-depth waters reaches depths shallow enough so that these waters are advected into the Aegean and form a mid-depth salinity-minimum layer. Notable changes have been found in the nutrient distributions. On the basin-scale the nutrient levels in the upper water column have been elevated by the uplifting of nutrient-rich deeper waters. Nutrient-rich water is now found closer to the euphotic zone than previously, which might induce enhanced biological activity. The observed salinity redistribution, i.e. decreasing values in the upper 500–1400 m and increasing values in the bottom layer, suggests that at least part of the transition is due to an internal redistribution of salt. An initiation of the event by a local enhancement of salinity in the Aegean through a strong change in the fresh water flux is conceivable and is supported by observations.  相似文献   

3.
Nutrient and oxygen data collected in the southern Aegean Sea (Cretan Sea) and the straits of the Cretan Arc, during the four seasonal PELAGOS cruises in 1994–1995, are investigated and compared with data collected from 1987 to 1992 within the same area. During the cruises of the PELAGOS Project, nutrient enrichment of the intermediate layers of the Cretan Sea was observed, as a result of intrusion of ‘nutrient-rich, oxygen-poor’ Transition Mediterranean Water (TMW) compensating the Cretan Deep Water (CDW) outflow. TMW occupied the intermediate layers of the entire Cretan Sea. The concentrations of nutrients within this layer were often two times higher than those observed in the same area during previous studies undertaken before 1992 (increase 2.5 μmol/l of nitrate, 0.05 μmol/l of phosphate and 2.5μmol/l of silicate). The decrease of oxygen in this layer is about 0.8ml/l (35 μmol/l). Outflow of CDW occurs principally through the Antikithira and Kassos Straits (the two deeper straits of the Cretan Arc); it results in an increase of oxygen content but a decrease in the nutrient content of water in the deep and bottom layers outside the Cretan Sea. The major mesoscale features in the area have a major influence of the distributions and exchanges of nutrients and oxygen through the straits of the Cretan Arc. The surface and the intermediate layers were richer in nutrients and poorer in oxygen in spring (March 1994), than in autumn (September 1994).  相似文献   

4.
The Straits of the Cretan Arc are the gateways through which water exchanges between the Cretan Sea and the SE Ionian and NW Levantine Seas. Dissolved oxygen and nutrient fluxes have been quantified for the major straits — Antikithira, Kassos and Karpathos — by combining chemical bottle-sample data and current measurements obtained during the PELAGOS Project during 1994–1995. Two water masses, Cretan Deep Water (CDW) and Transitional Mediterranean Water (TMW) dominate the circulation through the straits and lead to a vertical redistribution of nutrients in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.The transport of chemicals through the major straits of the Cretan Arc appears to be highly variable. In the Antikithira and Kassos Straits, a net export of oxygen and nutrients from the Cretan Sea towards the open waters of the Eastern Mediterranean was observed throughout the entire study period. In contrast, a net inflow of oxygen and nutrients of Levantine origin was taking place through the Karpathos Strait. It is concluded that the export of nutrients through the Antikithira and Kassos Straits are almost completely balanced by the net import through the Karpathos Strait.  相似文献   

5.
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6.
As part of a lipid biogeochemical study, aliphatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons were determined in surficial sediments from the Cretan Sea (South Aegean Sea) in the Eastern Mediterranean. Total concentrations of both aliphatic (AHC) and polyaromatic (PAH) hydrocarbons were low (562–5697 and 14.6–158.5 ng/g, respectively) with respect to other coastal sediments worldwide and compare with concentrations found in open sea areas. The composition of AHC was dominated by unresolved complex mixture (UCM) indicating the presence of petroleum-related hydrocarbon inputs as confirmed by the detection of specific α,β-hopanes. PAH consisted mainly of pyrolytic four- to five-ring compounds. UCM and PAH amounts revealed that Cretan Sea receives low supply of anthropogenic material compared to NW Mediterranean. The spatial distributions of AHC and PAH indicated that urban run-off and transport from the continental self are the major input pathway of anthropogenic and biogenic hydrocarbons from terrestrial sources in the near shore area, whereas atmospheric transport might be the significant source of hydrocarbons in the deep area.  相似文献   

7.
The circulation and hydrography of the north-eastern North Atlantic has been studied with an emphasis on the upper layers and the deep water types which take part in the thermohaline overturning of the Oceanic Conveyor Belt. Over 900 hydrographic stations were used for this study, mainly from the 1987–1991 period. The hydrographic properties of Subpolar Mode Water in the upper layer, which is transported towards the Norwegian Sea, showed large regional variation. The deep water mass was dominated by the cold inflow of deep water from the Norwegian Sea and by a cyclonic recirculation of Lower Deep Water with a high Antarctic Bottom Water content. At intermediate levels the dominating water type was Labrador Sea Water with only minor influence of Mediterranean Sea Water. In the permanent pycnocline traces of Antarctic Intermediate Water were found.Geostrophic transports have been estimated, and these agreed in order of magnitude with the local heat budget, with current measurements, with data from surface drifters, and with the observed water mass modification. A total of 23 Sv of surface water entered the region, of which 20 Sv originated from the North Atlantic Current, while 3 Sv entered via an eastern boundary current. Of this total, 13 Sv of surface water left the area across the Reykjanes Ridge, and 7 Sv entered the Norwegian Sea, while 3 Sv was entrained by the cold overflow across the Iceland-Scotland Ridge. Approximately 1.4 Sv of Norwegian Sea Deep Water was involved in the overflow into the Iceland Basin, which, with about 1.1 Sv of entrained water and 1.1 Sv recirculating Lower Deep Water, formed a deep northern boundary current in the Iceland Basin. At intermediate depths, where Labrador Sea Water formed the dominant water type, about 2 Sv of entrained surface water contributed to a saline water mass which was transported westwards along the south Icelandic slope.  相似文献   

8.
Five research cruises were undertaken incorporating ADCP sections along the Cretan Arc Straits and CTD surveys covering the entire area of the Straits and the Cretan Sea. In addition, six moorings (with 15 current meters) were deployed within the Straits, which monitored flows in the surface (50 m), intermediate (250 m), and deep (50 m from the bottom) layers. The ADCP, CM, and CTD datasets enable the derivation of water transports through the Cretan Arc Straits to be assessed. Flow structure through the Cretan Arc Straits is not the typical flow regime with a surface inflow and deep outflow, instead there is a persistent deep outflow of Cretan Deep Water (CDW) (σθ>29.2) with an annual mean of ˜0.6 Sv, through the Antikithira and Kassos Straits at depths below 400 m and 500 m, respectively. CDW outflowing transports are higher (˜0.8 Sv) in April–June, and lower (˜0.3 Sv) in October–December. Within the upper water layer (0–˜400 m), the transport and the water exchanges through the Straits are controlled by local circulation features, which weaken substantially below 200 m. The Asia Minor Current (AMC) influences the Rhodes and the Karpathos Straits, resulting in a net inflow of water. In contrast, the Mirtoan/West Cretan Cyclone influences the Antikithira and Kithira Straits, where there is a net outflow. In the Kassos Strait, there is a complex interaction between the East Cretan Cyclone, the Ierapetra Anticyclone and the westward extension of the Rhodes Gyre, which results in a variable flow regime. There is a net inflow in autumn and early winter, and a switch to a net outflow in early spring and summer. The total inflow and outflow, throughout all of the Straits, ranged from ˜2 to ˜3.5 Sv, with higher values in autumn and early winter and lower in summer. The AMC carries ˜2 Sv of inflow through the Rhodes and Karpathos Straits, and this accounts for 60–80% of the total inflow. About 10–15% of the total outflow is of CDW, and a further 45–70% occurs through the upper 400 m of the Kithira and Antikithira Straits. The Kassos Strait exhibits a net inflow of ˜0.7 Sv in autumn and early winter, with a net outflow of ˜0.5 Sv in early spring and summer.  相似文献   

9.
An unprecedented high-quality, quasi-synoptic hydrographic data set collected during the ALBATROSS cruise along the rim of the Scotia Sea is examined to describe the pathways of the deep water masses flowing through the region, and to quantify changes in their properties as they cross the sea. Owing to sparse sampling of the northern and southern boundaries of the basin, the modification and pathways of deep water masses in the Scotia Sea had remained poorly documented despite their global significance.Weddell Sea Deep Water (WSDW) of two distinct types is observed spilling over the South Scotia Ridge to the west and east of the western edge of the Orkney Passage. The colder and fresher type in the west, recently ventilated in the northern Antarctic Peninsula, flows westward to Drake Passage along the southern margin of the Scotia Sea while mixing intensely with eastward-flowing Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) of the antarctic circumpolar current (ACC). Although a small fraction of the other WSDW type also spreads westward to Drake Passage, the greater part escapes the Scotia Sea eastward through the Georgia Passage and flows into the Malvinas Chasm via a deep gap northeast of South Georgia. A more saline WSDW variety from the South Sandwich Trench may leak into the eastern Scotia Sea through Georgia Passage, but mainly flows around the Northeast Georgia Rise to the northern Georgia Basin.In Drake Passage, the inflowing CDW displays a previously unreported bimodal property distribution, with CDW at the Subantarctic Front receiving a contribution of deep water from the subtropical Pacific. This bimodality is eroded away in the Scotia Sea by vigorous mixing with WSDW and CDW from the Weddell Gyre. The extent of ventilation follows a zonation that can be related to the CDW pathways and the frontal anatomy of the ACC. Between the Southern Boundary of the ACC and the Southern ACC Front, CDW cools by 0.15°C and freshens by 0.015 along isopycnals. The body of CDW in the region of the Polar Front splits after overflowing the North Scotia Ridge, with a fraction following the front south of the Falkland Plateau and another spilling over the plateau near 49.5°W. Its cooling (by 0.07°C) and freshening (by 0.008) in crossing the Scotia Sea is counteracted locally by NADW entraining southward near the Maurice Ewing Bank. CDW also overflows the North Scotia Ridge by following the Subantarctic Front through a passage just east of Burdwood Bank, and spills over the Falkland Plateau near 53°W with decreased potential temperature (by 0.03°C) and salinity (by 0.004). As a result of ventilation by Weddell Sea waters, the signature of the Southeast Pacific Deep Water (SPDW) fraction of CDW is largely erased in the Scotia Sea. A modified form of SPDW is detected escaping the sea via two distinct routes only: following the Southern ACC Front through Georgia Passage; and skirting the eastern end of the Falkland Plateau after flowing through Shag Rocks Passage.  相似文献   

10.
The Mediterranean Sea transforms surface Atlantic Water (AW) into a set of cooler and saltier typical Mediterranean Waters (tMWs) that are formed in different subbasins within the sea and thus have distinct hydrological characteristics. Depending on the mixing conditions along their route and on their relative amounts, the tMWs are more or less differentiated at any given place, and some mix together up to forming new water masses. We emphasise the fact that any of these Mediterranean Waters (MWs) must outflow from the sea, even if more or less identifiable and/or in a more or less continuous way. Historical data from the 1960s–1980s showed that the densest MW outflowing through the Strait of Gibraltar at Camarinal Sill South (CSS) was a relatively cool and fresh tMW formed in the western basin, namely the Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW). At these times, the sole other tMW identified in the strait was the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW); no mention was made there of, in particular, the two densest tMWs formed in the eastern basin (in the Aegean and the Adriatic) that are now named Eastern Overflow Water (EOW) when they reach the Channel of Sicily (where they cannot be differentiated). A fortiori, no mention was made of the Tyrrhenian Dense Water (TDW) that results from the mixing of EOW with waters resident in the western basin (in particular WMDW) when it cascades down to ∼2000 m from the channel of Sicily. New measurements (essentially temperature and salinity time series) collected at CSS since the mid-1990s indicate that the densest MWs outflowing through the strait have been continuously changing; temperature and salinity there have been increasing, being actually (early 2000s) much warmer (∼0.3 °C) and saltier (0.06) than ∼20 years ago. These changes are one order of magnitude larger than the decadal trends shown for WMDW in particular. We thus demonstrate that, in the early 2000s, (i) the densest MW outflowing at Gibraltar is TDW and (ii) TDW is mainly composed of EOW (the percentage of MWs from the western basin, in particular WMDW, is lower): the densest part of the outflow is thus “more eastern than western”. This Mediterranean Sea Transient (a shift from the western basin to the eastern one) could be linked to the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (a shift from the Adriatic subbasin to the Aegean one). Whatever the case, we demonstrate that the proper functioning of the Mediterranean Sea leads to a variability in its outflow's composition that can have consequences for the mid-depth water characteristics in the North-Atlantic much more dramatic than previously thought.  相似文献   

11.
A simple hydraulic model is used to estimate the deep water fluxes of Cretan Deep Water (CDW), through the Cretan Arc Straits and into the Eastern Mediterranean Basins. The input to the model consists of the height of the deep water reservoir above sill depth and its density difference from the overlying water masses. Data from four hydrographic cruises, which took place in 1995, 1991 and 1987, are used to estimate the depth of the reservoir above the sill and the density difference. The results show a significant CDW outflow of 0.75×106 m3 s−1 in early 1995. The outflow of CDW through Kassos Strait, in the east, is 0.53×106 m3 s−1, while 0.22×106 m3 s−1 outflows through the Antikithira Strait in the west. The model results agree with fluxes estimated from current meter observations.The CDW outflow has been neither steady nor uniform during the period 1987–95. In the Kassos Strait, the outflow commenced in 1987 and increased rapidly until 1991; since then, it appears to have stabilised. In the Antikithira Strait, in contrast, the outflow has increased steadily since 1987. Such modifications in the CDW outflow are associated with changes in its hydrographic characteristics. The salinity of CDW increased constantly, by approximately 0.1, between 1987 and 1995 while its temperature warmed, between 1987 and 1991, and then cooled.  相似文献   

12.
In the Eastern Mediterranean, offshore Egypt, the Nile continental margin is characterized by a large deep water turbiditic system known as the Nile Deep Sea Fan. This post-Miocene terrigenous construction covers an approximately 10 km-thick sedimentary pile, including 1–3 km of Messinian salt layers. Systematically collected swath bathymetric data proved to be the most powerful tool to discover, describe and study many sea floor features of this sedimentary construction which reflects competition between active tectonic, sedimentary, and geochemical processes. Gravity tectonics, triggered by underlying mobile salt layers, construction of channel-levee systems, the passage of turbidite flows, sedimentary slope failures at various scales, massive mud expulsions and fluid seepages are all interfering to shape the Nile Deep Sea Fan seabed.  相似文献   

13.
Water masses in the East Sea are newly defined based upon vertical structure and analysis of CTD data collected in 1993–1999 during Circulation Research of the East Asian Marginal Seas (CREAMS). A distinct salinity minimum layer was found at 1500 m for the first time in the East Sea, which divides the East Sea Central Water (ESCW) above the minimum layer and the East Sea Deep Water (ESDW) below the minimum layer. ESCW is characterized by a tight temperature–salinity relationship in the temperature range of 0.6–0.12 °C, occupying 400–1500 m. It is also high in dissolved oxygen, which has been increasing since 1969, unlike the decrease in the ESDW and East Sea Bottom Water (ESBW). In the eastern Japan Basin a new water with high salinity in the temperature range of 1–5 °C was found in the upper layer and named the High Salinity Intermediate Water (HSIW). The origin of the East Sea Intermediate Water (ESIW), whose characteristics were found near the Korea Strait in the southwestern part of the East Sea in 1981 [Kim, K., & Chung, J. Y. (1984) On the salinity-minimum and dissolved oxygen-maximum layer in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), In T. Ichiye (Ed.), Ocean Hydrodynamics of the Japan and East China Seas (pp. 55–65). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers], is traced by its low salinity and high dissolved oxygen in the western Japan Basin. CTD data collected in winters of 1995–1999 confirmed that the HSIW and ESIW are formed locally in the Eastern and Western Japan Basin. CREAMS CTD data reveal that overall structure and characteristics of water masses in the East Sea are as complicated as those of the open oceans, where minute variations of salinity in deep waters are carefully magnified to the limit of CTD resolution. Since the 1960s water mass characteristics in the East Sea have changed, as bottom water formation has stopped or slowed down and production of the ESCW has increased recently.  相似文献   

14.
Bathymetric, 9.5-kHz long-range sidescan sonar (OKEAN), seismic reflection and sediment-core data are used in the analysis of two tectonic troughs south of Crete, Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Here, up to 1.2 s two-way travel time (TWTT) of strata have accumulated since the Middle Miocene in association with extension in the South Aegean region. The study area comprises >100-km- long by >25-km-wide basins filled by sediments subdivided into two seismic units: (1) an upper Unit 1 deposited in sub-basins which follow the present-day configuration of the southern Cretan margin; (2) a basal Unit 2, more than 500 ms (TWTT) thick, accumulated in deeper half-graben/grabens distinct from the present-day depocentres. Both units overlap a locally stratified Unit 3 comprising the pre-Neogene core complex of Crete and Gavdos. In this work, the interpreted seismic units are correlated with the onshore stratigraphy, demonstrating that denudation processes occurring on Crete and Gavdos in response to major tectonic events have been responsible for high sedimentation rates along the proximal southern Cretan margin. Consequently, topographically confined sedimentary units have been deposited south of Crete in the last 12 Ma, including turbidites and other mass-flow deposits fed by evolving transverse and axial channel systems. Surface processes controlling facies distribution include the direct inflow of sediment from alluvial-fan systems and incising mountain rivers onto the Cretan slope, where significant sediment instability processes occur at present. In this setting, seismic profiles reveal eight different types of stratigraphic contacts on basin-margin highs, and basinal areas show evidence of halokinesis and/or fluid escape. The acquired data also show that significant changes to the margin’s configuration occurred in association with the post-Alpine tectonic and eustatic episodes affecting the Eastern Mediterranean.  相似文献   

15.
A mass-balance trophic model was built to describe the food-web traits of the North Aegean Sea (Strymonikos Gulf and Thracian Sea, Greece, Eastern Mediterranean) during the mid-2000s and to explore the impacts of fishing. This is the first food-web model representing the Aegean Sea, and results were presented and discussed in comparison to other previous ecosystems modelled from the western and the central areas of the basin (South Catalan and North-Central Adriatic Seas).  相似文献   

16.
Based on historical observations, ventilation of the Sulu Sea （SS） is investigated and, its interbasin exchange is also partly discussed. The results suggest that near the surface the water renewal process not only occurs through the Mindoro Strait （MS） and the Sibutu Passage, but also depends on the inflows through the Surigao Strait and the Bohol Sea from the Pacific and through the Balabac Strait from the South China Sea （SCS）. Both inflows are likely persistent year round and their transports might not be negligible. Below the surface, the core layer of the Subtropical LowerWater （SLW） lies at about 200 m, which enters the SS through the Mindoro Strait not hampered by topography. Moreover, there is no indication of SLW inflow through the Sibutu Passage even though the channel is deep enough to allow its passage. The most significant ventilation process of the SS takes place in depths from 20a m to about 1200 m where intermediate convection driven by quasi-steady inflows through the Mindoro and Panay straits （MS-PS） dominates. Since the invaded water is drawn from the upper part of the North Pacific Intermediate Water （NPIW） of the SCS, it is normally not dense enough to sink to the bottom. Hence, the convective process generally can only reach some intermediate depths resulting in a layer of weak salinity minimum （about 34.45）. Below that layer, there is the Sulu Sea Deep Water （SSDW） homogeneously distributed from 1200 m down to the sea floor, of which the salinity is only a bit higher （about 34.46） above the minimum. Observational evidence shows that hydrographic conditions near the entrance of the MS in the SCS vary significantly from season to season, which make it possi- ble to provide the MS-PS overflowwith denser water of higher salinity sporadically. It is hence proposed that the SSDW is derived from intermittent deed convection resulted from DroDertv changes of the MS-PS inflow.  相似文献   

17.
利用中国第九次南大洋考察中南极普里兹湾及其邻近海域的CTD资料,分析研究了调查海域的水文结构特征及其该区南极底层水(AABW)的来源.研究结果表明,在研究海域,深水洋区近表层流由西向东流,而在普里兹湾内存在一个气旋型涡.水文结构中最明显的海洋学特征是:(1)绕极深层水(CDW)的涌升现象明显,涌升最强的位置是麦克罗伯逊地以北海域,最明显的深度是50～200m层,暖水涌升将冬季冷水分隔成南北两部分,并在其中形成孤立的暖水块;(2)陆缘水边界明显,这是绕极深层水与南极冷水之间形成的锋面,一般处在次表层水中,大致位于64°～66°S之间;(3)存在着双跃层结构.观测期间,普里兹湾以北探水海域存在着南极底层水,其来源可能有二:一为当地形成,二为源于威德尔海和罗斯海.  相似文献   

18.
本文利用World Ocean Atlas 2013（WOA2013）气候态的温盐资料和the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation （SODA v3.3.1）流场数据，分析印尼贯穿流东部源区马鲁古海和哈马黑拉海的水团垂向分布特征及其来源，特别是次表层、中层及深层水的来源和路径。结果表明，气候态下，马鲁古海次表层的高温高盐水来自于北太平洋，与北太平洋热带水性质接近，哈马黑拉海次表层主要是来自南太平洋热带水；中层水以低温低盐为特征，马鲁古海的中层水来自南太平洋，受南极中层水控制，哈马黑拉海的中层水可能是从马鲁古海而来的南太平洋水；对于次表层和中层之间的过渡层，马鲁古海与哈马黑拉海的水源为南、北太平洋的混合水，且两个海域之间也存在着水团交换；在深层，马鲁古海的水源更倾向于班达海北部及塞兰海，而与太平洋水无关，哈马黑拉海由于地形阻挡也难以与太平洋直接发生水团交换。  相似文献   

19.
We present a detailed account of the changing hydrography and the large-scale circulation of the deep waters of the Eastern Mediterranean (EMed) that resulted from the unique, high-volume influx of dense waters from the Aegean Sea during the 1990s, and of the changes within the Aegean that initiated the event, the so-called ‘Eastern Mediterranean Transient’ (EMT). The analysis uses repeated hydrographic and transient tracer surveys of the EMed in 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, and 2001/2002, hydrographic time series in the southern Aegean and southern Adriatic Seas, and further scattered data. Aegean outflow averaged nearly 3 × 106 m3 s−1 between mid-1992 and late 1994, and was largest during 1993, when south and west of Crete Aegean-influenced deep waters extended upwards to 400 m depth. EMT-related Aegean outflow prior to 1992, confined to the region around Crete and to 1800 m depth-wise, amounted to about 3% of the total outflow. Outflow after 1994 up to 2001/2002, derived from the increasing inventory of the tracer CFC-12, contributed 20% to the total, of 2.8 × 1014 m3. Densities in the southern Aegean Sea deep waters rose by 0.2 kg/m3 between 1987 and 1993, and decreased more slowly thereafter. The Aegean waters delivered via the principal exit pathway in Kasos Strait, east of Crete, propagated westward along the Cretan slope, such that in 1995 the highest densities were observed in the Hellenic Trench west of Crete. Aegean-influenced waters also crossed the East Mediterranean Ridge south of Crete and from there expanded eastward into the southeastern Levantine Sea. Transfer into the Ionian mostly followed the Hellenic Trench, largely up to the trench’s northern end at about 37°N. From there the waters spread further west while mixing with the resident waters. Additional transfer occurred through the Herodotus Trough in the south. Levantine waters after 1994 consistently showed temperature–salinity (T–S) inversions in roughly 1000–1700 m depth, with amplitudes decreasing in time. The T–S distributions in the Ionian Sea were more diverse, one cause being added Aegean outflow of relatively lower density through the Antikithira Strait west of Crete. Spreading of the Aegean-influenced waters was quite swift, such that by early 1995 the entire EMed was affected. and strong mixing is indicated by near-linear T–S relationships observed in various places. Referenced to 2000 and 3000 dbar, the highest Aegean-generated densities observed during the event equaled those generated by Adriatic Sea outflow in the northern Ionian Sea prior to the EMT. A precarious balance between the two dense-water source areas is thus indicated. A feedback is proposed which helped triggering the change from a dominating Adriatic source to the Aegean source, but at the same time supported the previous long-year dominance of the Adriatic. The EMed deep waters will remain transient for decades to come.  相似文献   

20.
Vertical profiles of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from eight hydrological stations in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Sardinia Channel and Algerian Sea, are reported. DOC exhibits concentrations ranging from 58 to 88 μM in surface water, 43–57 μM in the intermediate layer and 49–63 μM in deep waters. The assessment of the hydrological characteristics allows different water masses in the study area to be identified; moreover, different hydrological processes are observed in the Tyrrhenian and Algerian basins. DOC exhibits different values in the different water masses. The lowest DOC concentrations (43–46 μM) were found in the Tyrrhenian Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW). Correlations between DOC and apparent oxygen utilization (AOU), investigated within each water mass, exhibit different behaviors in the intermediate and deep waters, suggesting the occurrence of different processes of oxygen consumption in the different water masses.  相似文献   

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